Latest from Central Hudson: 32,000 customers still without power

Wednesday

Aug 31, 2011 at 3:56 PMAug 31, 2011 at 4:00 PM

About 32,000 Central Hudson customers remain without power as of 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The utility blamed impassable or washed-away roads, flooded properties and devastated downtowns for making it impossible to reach some of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Irene. Central Hudson has now restored electricity to nearly 150,000 of the 180,000 customers who lost service due to the killer storm.

Electricity has largely returned to half of its eight counties: Columbia, Dutchess, Orange and Putnam, and is expected to be restored for at least 90 percent of the residents who live in the remaining and hardest-hit counties by 11 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4.

“Where we have been able to gain access, our damage assessment teams report that we will need to rebuild some portions of our electric system in several of these devastated communities-- the highway shoulders where our poles once stood have been washed away in scores of locations. This will require substantive construction work to complete,” said Central Hudson President James P. Laurito. “We thank the county, state and federal governments for recognizing that the damage in some locations is horrific, and that it will take weeks -- if not months -- to overcome.

“The vast majority of remaining customers will have electricity by Sunday evening, but we have sadly realized that some customers may be even weeks away from recovery in these hard-hit areas. Damage to their homes and hometowns is astounding,” Laurito said, after touring more of the utility's eight-county service territory again today.

Joining Central Hudson's 1,000-person restoration effort today were 26 additional line clearance crew members; and on Friday, 15 additional line repair and construction personnel will arrive from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They join Westar Crews from Kansas and every Central Hudson employee in working to restore electric service in the wake of the second worst natural disaster in the history of the utility. Central Hudson continues to solicit for additional mutual aid assistance, but resources are strained throughout the Eastern Seaboard due to the extent of Irene's swath of damage. New fears regarding the brewing storm Katia have also prohibited some utilities from lending assistance, Laurito said.

As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, here are the locations of the estimated 32,000 customers who remain without electric service:

Ulster County – 23,627; Majority projected to be restored by Sunday.

Sullivan County – 1,065; Majority projected to be restored by Sunday.

Dutchess County – 360; Majority projected to be restored by 11 p.m. Wednesday

Orange County – 95; Majority projected to be restored by 11 p.m. Wednesday.

“The widespread nature of the storm along the Eastern Seaboard has also made it virtually impossible to obtain supplies of dry ice, though we continue to seek it out and will do our best to notify our customers when/where it becomes available. We will distribute it as quickly as we can where it is needed most,” said Laurito. Bottled water will be provided at:

Central Hudson officials continue to warn local residents that serious flooding conditions also have the potential to undermine the stability of underground pipelines; they remind customers who may see damage in the vicinity of pipelines and/or who may smell the odor of natural gas to report the condition via the utility's Gas Odor Hotline: 1-800-942-8274. Laurito stressed the importance of staying away from downed lines and being alert to the possibility that fallen trees or structures may hide energized electric lines.

If power is lost, customers should call Central Hudson's PowerLine at (845) 452-2700 or 1-800-527-2714 to report their power condition, and are encouraged to use the automated reporting system. Customers with access to a computer may also report their power condition via the utility's website, www.CentralHudson.com, by using the StormCentral function.

Information regarding service restoration estimates, as it becomes available, can be obtained by phone and on-line, and updates are posted on Facebook and Twitter. A mobile version of the utility's website, including StormCentral, can be accessed by web enabled cell phones and mobile devices at http://mobile.CentralHudson.com. Free Central Hudson mobile applications for Android-based and Apple devices are also available by logging onto www.CentralHudson.com/mobileapp.

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